penury

noun

pen·u·ry ˈpen-yə-rē How to pronounce penury (audio)

: a cramping and oppressive lack of resources (such as money)

especially : severe poverty

: extreme and often stingy frugality

Did you know?

The exact meaning of "penury" (from Latin penuria, meaning "want") can vary a bit from context to context. It sometimes has had a broad sense of "lack" or "scarcity," as when one character remarks on another's "penury of conversation" in Jane Austen's Emma. It can also mean "frugality," as in Edith Wharton's description of an excessively thrifty hostess in The Age of Innocence: "Her relatives considered that the penury of her table discredited the Mingott name, which had always been associated with good living." The most common sense of "penury," however, is simply "poverty," as in Shakespeare's As You Like It: "Shall I keep your hogs, and eat husks with them? What prodigal portion have I spent that I should come to such penury?"

Example Sentences

lived in a time when single women like herself faced a lifetime of genteel penury

Recent Examples on the Web While millions of Ukrainians lived in near penury, part of its political and business elite amassed shadowy fortunes exploiting resources, enterprises and infrastructure formerly owned by the state.

New York Times, 18 Mar. 2022 The worst part of a bear market, besides the fears of penury, is the uncertainty.

Larry Edelman, BostonGlobe.com, 24 May 2022 Shchukin’s lavish patronage of Matisse, which began in 1906, relieved the artist and his family from years of penury.

Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 9 May 2022 The North is a pariah nation of people hovering often on the knife-edge of starvation or penury.

David A. Andelman, CNN, 22 Feb. 2022 But within months, the Bitcoin bonanza took the nation from plenty to penury.

Shawn Tully, Fortune, 6 Jan. 2022 English roads teemed with men turned vagrant by penury; Spain was on the cusp of war.

Washington Post, 30 Dec. 2021 Burma, once lauded for its fine schools and polyglot cosmopolitanism, sank into penury.

New York Times, 24 Dec. 2021 Like all diseases, COVID-19 feeds on penury, and in the Bronx—which has been hit twice as hard as Manhattan—nearly one in three people lives below the poverty line.

Rozina Ali, Harper’s Magazine , 7 Dec. 2021 See More

penury

noun

as in poverty

the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions lived in a time when single women like herself faced a lifetime of genteel penury

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

poverty
misery
beggary
indigence
impoverishment
destitution
pauperism
poorness
necessity
neediness
impecuniousness
impecuniosity
penuriousness
deprivation
need
privation
wretchedness
exigency
bankruptcy
woe
destituteness
want
emergency
gutter
insolvency
austerity
rainy day
pinching
straitening
belt-tightening

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

affluence
opulence
wealth
richness
wealthiness
prosperity
luxury

Synonym Chooser

Some common synonyms of penury are destitution, indigence, poverty, and want. While all these words mean "the state of one with insufficient resources," penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money.

a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury

The words indigence and penury are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances.

the indigence of her years as a graduate student

In some situations, the words poverty and penury are roughly equivalent. However, poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts.

the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers

Both want and destitution imply extreme poverty that threatens life itself through starvation or exposure.

lived in a perpetual state of want

the widespread destitution in countries beset by famine

单词	penury
释义	penury noun pen·u·ry ˈpen-yə-rē 1 : a cramping and oppressive lack of resources (such as money) especially : severe poverty 2 : extreme and often stingy frugality Did you know? The exact meaning of "penury" (from Latin penuria, meaning "want") can vary a bit from context to context. It sometimes has had a broad sense of "lack" or "scarcity," as when one character remarks on another's "penury of conversation" in Jane Austen's Emma. It can also mean "frugality," as in Edith Wharton's description of an excessively thrifty hostess in The Age of Innocence: "Her relatives considered that the penury of her table discredited the Mingott name, which had always been associated with good living." The most common sense of "penury," however, is simply "poverty," as in Shakespeare's As You Like It: "Shall I keep your hogs, and eat husks with them? What prodigal portion have I spent that I should come to such penury?" Synonyms beggary destituteness destitution impecuniosity impecuniousness impoverishment indigence necessity need neediness pauperism penuriousness poorness poverty want See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences lived in a time when single women like herself faced a lifetime of genteel penury Recent Examples on the Web While millions of Ukrainians lived in near penury, part of its political and business elite amassed shadowy fortunes exploiting resources, enterprises and infrastructure formerly owned by the state. New York Times, 18 Mar. 2022 The worst part of a bear market, besides the fears of penury, is the uncertainty. Larry Edelman, BostonGlobe.com, 24 May 2022 Shchukin’s lavish patronage of Matisse, which began in 1906, relieved the artist and his family from years of penury. Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 9 May 2022 The North is a pariah nation of people hovering often on the knife-edge of starvation or penury. David A. Andelman, CNN, 22 Feb. 2022 But within months, the Bitcoin bonanza took the nation from plenty to penury. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 6 Jan. 2022 English roads teemed with men turned vagrant by penury; Spain was on the cusp of war. Washington Post, 30 Dec. 2021 Burma, once lauded for its fine schools and polyglot cosmopolitanism, sank into penury. New York Times, 24 Dec. 2021 Like all diseases, COVID-19 feeds on penury, and in the Bronx—which has been hit twice as hard as Manhattan—nearly one in three people lives below the poverty line. Rozina Ali, Harper’s Magazine , 7 Dec. 2021 See More Word History Etymology Middle English, from Latin penuria, paenuria want; perhaps akin to Latin paene almost First Known Use 14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 penury noun as in poverty the state of lacking sufficient money or material possessions lived in a time when single women like herself faced a lifetime of genteel penury Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance poverty misery beggary indigence impoverishment destitution pauperism poorness necessity neediness impecuniousness impecuniosity penuriousness deprivation need privation wretchedness exigency bankruptcy woe destituteness want emergency gutter insolvency austerity rainy day pinching straitening belt-tightening Antonyms & Near Antonyms affluence opulence wealth richness wealthiness prosperity luxury See More Synonym Chooser Some common synonyms of penury are destitution, indigence, poverty, and want. While all these words mean "the state of one with insufficient resources," penury suggests a cramping or oppressive lack of money. a catastrophic illness that condemned them to years of penury The words indigence and penury are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, indigence implies seriously straitened circumstances. the indigence of her years as a graduate student In some situations, the words poverty and penury are roughly equivalent. However, poverty may cover a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts. the extreme poverty of the slum dwellers Both want and destitution imply extreme poverty that threatens life itself through starvation or exposure. lived in a perpetual state of want the widespread destitution in countries beset by famine
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penury

noun

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

noun

Synonym Chooser